Janet Kornblumhttp://newsbusters.org/taxonomy/term/810/0
enUSA Today NewsFlash: 'Rudeness, Threats Make the Web a Cruel World'http://newsbusters.org/blogs/ken-shepherd/2007/07/31/usa-today-newsflash-rudeness-threats-make-web-cruel-world
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><img src="/static/2007/07/2007-07-31USATodayrudeness.jpg" align="right" height="322" hspace="3" vspace="3" width="240" />In light of <a href="/blogs/matthew-sheffield/2007/07/31/hateful-left-cheers-roberts-medical-news" target="_blank">Matt Sheffield's latest post</a>, I found it a bit funny that <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/internetlife/2007-07-30-cruel-web_N.htm" target="_blank">this article</a> is featured on the front page of USAToday.com this morning (see screenshot to the right).</p><blockquote><div class="inside-copy">SAN FRANCISCO — Brooke Brodack remembers her first online &quot;hater.&quot; </div><p class="inside-copy">Nearly two years ago, the person posted rude comments about a video she had posted on YouTube, says Brodack, 21, of San Francisco, whose videos show her lip-syncing and creating characters. &quot;It was shocking to me. Why would someone want to be so mean for no reason?&quot; </p><p class="inside-copy">Why, indeed? Nasty comments, sometimes even death threats, have become ubiquitous on virtually any website that seeks to engage readers in discussion.</p><p class="inside-copy">&quot;Ur ugly u suk and u should die,&quot; says a typical comment beneath one of Brodack's many videos. Such vulgar messages have inspired heated discussions, and video responses, on YouTube.</p></blockquote><p class="inside-copy">Reporter Janet Kornblum later brought the topic around to how mainstream media Web sites have taken to banning comments after persistent problems:</p></div></div></div>Tue, 31 Jul 2007 14:55:23 +0000Ken Shepherd14777 at http://newsbusters.org